Friends,

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I am excited to announce that I am seeking re-election to a second term as the At Large member of the Forsyth County Commission.

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Since winning election to that responsibility in 2022, I have worked hard to live up to the commitments I made during that campaign.  
 

*Working for residents of the city, the smaller towns, and the countryside. 

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I have emphasized that the job of the Forsyth County Commission—and especially the At Large member—is to work for all the people of Forsyth County, whether they live in the city, one of the smaller towns, or the countryside.  The days of acting as though county responsibilities ended at the municipal lines are gone, and we won’t let them come back.  To demonstrate that commitment, I have held multiple open public input sessions across Forsyth County, in both Commission Districts A and B.  There will be more to follow.
 

*Assisting historically underserved communities.

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I understand that working for all the people of our county includes ensuring that historically underserved communities—including so many of our Black and Hispanic/Latino neighbors—are not left out or left behind.  In education, health, environment, safety, and economic opportunity, we must maintain a focus on bridging the gaps to opportunity for all.
 

*Building communication and cooperation between the county government and our municipalities.

 

During my term on the county commission, we ended the unproductive disputes between the county and city over the Smith-Reynolds Airport.  Forsyth County and the City of Winston-Salem cooperated with each other and our state legislative delegation to establish the Smith-Reynolds Airport as a special tax district, providing an incentive for economic development there while allowing the county and city to share in the resulting increased tax revenues. 

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The county and city are also sharing the costs of stabilizing the eroding banks of Brushy Fork Creek where it runs through the impacted neighborhoods downstream from the airport.

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We permanently closed the door on the proposal to build a commercial events center in the heart of the county’s much-beloved Tanglewood Park.  Instead, the county’s agricultural events center will be located as part of a new park near Tobaccoville, where it is welcomed by the nearby community.  In addition, we developed new parks on Highland Avenue in Winston-Salem, adjacent to the county’s public health complex, and on Belews Lake, providing the first public access facilities to the lake. 

Most importantly, I have focused on Forsyth County’s core responsibilities of public education, public health, and public safety.
 

*Public Education

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*Each of the three budgets I’ve voted to approve has increased our support for our local public schools. 

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*This year’s budget appropriated a local record $180 million for the WS/FC schools. 

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*At my urging, the Commission also set aside a special reserve fund to improve the salaries of essential educational support staff like bus drivers and teacher assistants.

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*I strongly support investing in new top-quality school facilities, including the recently opened Konnoak Middle School and the new Brunson Elementary School under construction now.  I am pressing for construction of the long-awaited new Ashley Elementary School.

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*I am committed to working with our school system to help them recover from the financial mismanagement disaster left by their former system administration.  That process will not be easy or fast, but it must be done well and responsibly for our students, families, and educators.
 

*Public Health

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*We have taken steps to improve staffing and response times for both emergency and non-emergency medical transport, including a new comprehensive review of our Emergency Medical Service (EMS) with recommendations for further improvements.

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*We’re working to maintain our life-saving vaccination services and expand public education on their availability. 

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*I’m fighting hard to protect Medicaid for the over 100,000 Forsyth residents who depend on it, and working for health care access for all who still lack adequate coverage.

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*I successfully insisted that we maintain full funding for the meals-on-wheels program for shut-in seniors.
 

*Public Safety

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*We’ve funded more staff and officers for our Forsyth County Sheriff’s Department to protect public safety on our streets, in our neighborhoods, and in our schools.

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*We’ve funded proactive community outreach programs to mentor our youth and to reduce gun violence.

 

The choice is yours.

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In our democracy, the people choose their representatives.  I feel called to serve the people of Forsyth County, and so I ask you for the opportunity to continue that service. 

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If elected to a second term as the Forsyth County Commissioner At Large, I will continue to work hard to be accessible to community input, responsive to your concerns, and effective in making our county a better place for all.

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Dan Besse

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Dan Besse
Forsyth County Commissioner At Large